Kili 07 - day 1- Going to Africa!

I've never done a blog before, and don't really know how this works, but so many of you are asking about how the Kili climb went that I thought doing this might help.

Not really sure where to start, I suppose Heathrow is as good a place as any!

I arrived at Heathrow all by myself and immediatly started looking for people wearing walking boots. After about 20 minutes though I stopped, because people were looking at me like I was mad, walking around staring at feet! In the departures lounge most of our group managed to find each other, although as Jade was with her Mum, and Steve and Julia were together, I still felt a bit lost. I got on the plane and sat between an American missionary bloke, and Jason from Honalulu. He offered me sleeping tablets and a bag of nuts - long story. Anyway, in Kenya I managed to find Lena, and introduced her to the rest of the group, but still no sign of Dean. We eventually found him, looking lost and relieved to see us, and as he was talking to an African man we all naturally assumed that he was our driver. Like the Brit's we were, we followed him without question, and even when he was trying to charge us for a journey that had already been paid for, we were all surprised when are REAL driver turned up, ready to take us to Tanzania for free!

The journey through Kenya and Tanzania was all about getting to know each other. We all got on immediatly which was a relief. The landscape was fantastic and it was interesting driving from the bustle of Nairobi, which was terrifying and poverty stricken, through the remote Masai villages, with gorgeous mud huts and amazing bright clothes and jewellery, and children who looked as young as 2 herding cattle. There were enormous termite hills everywhere, but apart from an Impala, and some Zebra roadkill,(although I did see a Giraffe from the plane) our animal viewing was limited to birds (Much to Steves enjoyment!) From Kenya we got our first view of Kili. The driver pointed it out and I looked at a group of big mountains and wondered which one it was. Everyone else seemed to be amazed by it and I felt quite stupid not knowing which mountain was kili. Then someone told me I was looking in the wrong place. I needed to look up. All that was above the mountains though was clouds. I was told to look up higher and there, coming out of the top of the clouds, was Kili. It was huge, but rather than being scared I laughed at myself quietly for being stupid enough to think I could do it. I thought i'd make it half way at the most.

On the Kenya/Tanzania border we had to get out of our bus to get our visa's. The bus was immediatly pounced on by women selling bracelets. Initially they gave them to us for free, and it was nice, but before long they were really hassling us and when they realised that we were not going to buy any they asked for their gifts back. We were happy to oblige and just wanted to get away. At one point poor Dean was surrounded by women, but I reckon he secretly enjoyed it!

We arrived at the hotel exhausted, but it was so beautiful. The staff were lovely, the rooms fantastic, and the sound of the African birds amazing. We done what all Brits do, ate, then found the bar! We got to know each other a little better, then Lena (who I was sharing a room with) and I went to bed. I was a bit worried about sharing a room with a stranger but it was hours later when we finally stopped laughing for long enough to get to sleep!

Kili 07 - day 2 - The Amani Kids

The group ate breakfast together and discussed the briefing that we had had before dinner last night. We had been told that it was likely that we would all suffer from altitude sickness, and only 80% of us would make it. I thought that that was ok, as I was not going to make it, that meant that the other 5 probably would. We watched as a group of 19 Canadian teenagers and 3 teachers met their guides and porters and set off to climb Kilimanjaro. It suddenly felt very real and I was terrified.

After breakfast we set off to the Amani Children's Centre. The whole reason that we were here and doing this. We arrived at the centre in the middle of a dance class, and I was immediatly struck by how happy the children were. They just didn't stop smiling and they didn't stop dancing. Even after the class gad finished they danced while they hand washed their own clothes, put on an AMAZING dance performance for us, danced while they got ready for lunch, and danced while they ate. We were shown around the centre by Alaena, who was very passionate about the centre and about the street children of Tanzania. She told us that when the children eventually move into the new, bigger centre, the reason for our fundraising, the old centre will be used for teenage girls. I really felt at that point that we were part of something very special. When we went into the boys bedroom I couldn't speak for a couple of minutes as I was quite close to tears. Bunkbeds filled the room, and were pushed together to enable more children to sleep on them. The children slept 3 to a bed, and they were still smiling. One girl gave me a bracelet. She just put it into my hands and walked away. I was so touched, and it made me realise just how much we spoil our kids in this country, and what people become as a result of this. These children had nothing at all, yet they didnt complain that they were bored, they didn't ask for anything, and they were prepared to share the nothing that they had.

After eating lunch with the children, and taking a few photo's, we went onto the the new Amani Centre. Building work was almost finished and the children expect to move in in May. The centre was huge, and the boys will share 7 bedrooms instead of just 2. They have proper classrooms, a football pitch, and an ampitheatre to dance in outside. It was amazing.

We went back to the hotel for a kit inspection and the reality of what we planned to do hit us. We had to lay all of our clothes and equipment, hats, gloves, fleeces, headtorch, thermals, water bottles, camel packs, first aid kit, malaria tablets, Immodium (which would later come in very handy!) Socks, waterproofs....the list was endless. Luckily we all had everything that we needed, and we were given big sacks to put our belongings in. These were huge, but were to be carried up the mountain by our porters. All we needed to carry was our day packs.

Steve had arranged a local guide to take him birdwatching. We all decided to tag along and had a brilliant afternoon. Our guide took us into the banana plantation where we discovered tiny mud houses, and a very beautiful very elderly lady who looked like she had been there forever. The children followed us through the trees, saying 'Jambo' and giggling at us. We even came across 2 'factory' cows living in a shed in the middle of the banana trees. He then took us into the rainforest and had us walking through rivers. Dean even jumped off a waterfall with some Tanzanian kids. It started to rain and the smell was amazing. It was without doubt one of the best experiences of my life.

We got back to the hotel, and I decided to buy some coffee beans from our guide. We ate our tea and went to bed, trying not to think about what tomorrow would bring. When Lena and I arrived back at our room we were welcomed by the biggest moth we had ever seen. It was as big as my hand. We were both too nervous to sleep, and again giggled into the early hours.

You can find our more info on the Amani Children's Centre at www.amanikids.org and for now if you wish to make a donation you can do so at www.justgiving.com/govinda You can also contact me directly and I can collect cash or cheques for the kids. Many thanks to everyone who has sponsored me.

Kili 07 - Day 3 - Bumpy truck

I woke up feeling quite calm, considering what I was about to do! Lena and I sorted out our kit, and met the others for breakfast. Surprisingly everyone else was calm too, I don't think we were quite aware of what was going on! We went outside and met our chief guide Goudance. We were then introduced to our other 3 guides, Reg, Octavius, and Steve, and our 15 porters. 19 people to get us six Brits up the mountain. Unbelievable! All 25 of us piled into a very old, rickety truck, and me, Lena, Jade, Dean, and Julia squashed together on one seat in the middle, while Steve was in the front with Goudance, and EVERYONE else squashed into the back. At this point I was actually worried about the fact that it was so hot, and I was wearing walking trousers. I was worried that I would be all sweaty and smelly and horrible while sitting really close to people that I didn't know very well. I had no idea of what was to come over the next few days!

We drove around the bottom of the mountain to our start point on a very bumpy dusty, single track road. For 3 bloody hours! It was like one of the older wooden rollercoasters at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. We stopped for lunch in the tinyest mountain village, and ate in a dark cafe where they were watching the most bizarre African soap on the TV. We needed the loo, and a local man allowed us to use his outdoor drop loo. As we were getting back into the van he tried to charge us a dollar each. Our guides told us to just get back into the van. I would have happilly paid a dollar for that wee!

We arrived at our start point and got out of the van, and while we were sorting our day packs out, signing the national park register, and having a wee (again!), our porters packed up and left. I had a little trouble with my camel pack, which was placed too high in my bag and squirted my face everytime I wanted a drink. I was very embarrassed by this, but again had no idea that by the end of the climb there would be nothing that could embarrass me in front of these people! Reg fixed it and we set off.

We were all in really high spirits and had a fantastic view of Kibo (the peak) ahead of us. We walked through the most amazing rainforest and were lucky enough to see blue monkeys, and colobus monkeys. I knew that I should have taken photo's or got out the video camera, but it was such an amazing experience and I just wanted to enjoy it. I really couldn't believe that I was walking through the African rainforest, watching monkeys! We walked for about 3 and 1/2 hours and arrived at Simba (lion) camp. It was much more organised than I expected, and our porters had already set up our tents. There were some very dodgy long drop loo's, which were surpisingly welcome after the walk. The porters had prepared a lovely dinner, which we ate in a tent that was 2 rooms. One room was just big enough for the six of us to sit around a table, but the other half of the tent was the porters sleeping area, and they were all settling down to bed while we were eating which was a bit strange. We played cards together for a while after dinner - a bit more group bonding! -and went to bed. Our first night in our tents under the African sky. I shared with Lena, and again we were up giggling for hours!

Kili 07 - Day 4 - Big drops and texts

This was the most amazing morning of my life! I hadn't slept very well, in fact I had about an hour. I couldn't sleep (I've had some huge sleep problems in the past) and at one point lay in my sleeping bag almost in tears, because I knew there would be no way that I could get up the mountain if I didn't sleep. When I woke up at 6am though, all I could hear was the birds singing. I got up and went for a walk by myself, and I watched the sun rise through the clouds below us. It was so beautiful. There are no words to describe how beautiful it was so I won't even try. It spurred me on, and just for a minute I thought I might get to the top. I went back to the tent where the others were just getting up. Camping close by were a group of Australians, who were already up and almost ready to go. We all brushed our teeth outside our tents, and had a cup of tea brought to us by our loveliest porter Goodluck. (That was really his name). It wasn't English tea, it was Chai bora, which is taken without milk and has a really distinct taste that we all came to love. We ate a fantastic breakfast together (I was happy with the eggs, but have to admit I have never eaten carrots for breakfast!). I was really pleased with how well I was catered for being vegetarian. Lena struggled though as she doesn't eat wheat. As we ate I thought about how lucky I was to have such a lovely group to climb with. Lena and I had hit it off immediatly, and I felt comfortable enough to talk to her about how scared I was of the climb. She felt the same. Dean and Jade shared a tent and they got on really well too. Julia and Steve shared the other tent, and I hope they got on well, as they have been married for years! It was how we gelled as a group though that surprised me. It just seemed so natural and relaxed. It didn't matter who you found yourself walking with, there was always something interesting to talk about. They were all lovely.

We climbed for about 6 hours, and instead of rainforest we were climbing through steeper alpine meadows. We stopped for lunch at a cave that was guarded by an huge animals skull. This was where we saw our first 4 stripe mouse. It was a mouse, with 4 stripes! (In case you couldnt work that out!) We were to see quite a few of these little fella's on our climb. We set off again and the views were amazing. It felt like we were on top of the world, and we could see miles and miles of Africa. African plains stretching all the way to Kenya. As we were walking my phoned beeped. It was a text message from my lovely husband. We were hot, tired, and sweaty, and the message said, 'How are you doing honey. Bet you could do with a nice cold Magners right now!' I couldn't decide if I loved him or hated him! He also sent a text containing the Glastonbury line up, and it felt so strange telling everyone who was on at Glastonbury when we were half way up Kilimanjaro!

Towards the end of the day we started to scramble up rocks, and I got quite scared. I have a fear of sheer drops, and although for the most part it was ok, there were a few scary moments. At one point there was a rather high sheer drop to my left. I tried not to say anything cos I really didn't want to whinge, and considering I was attempting to climb Kilimanjaro I would have been stupid to think I wouldn't have to deal with it. (Ok, I was stupid, I did actually think I could climb Kilimanjaro with no sheer drops!) Anyway, it must have shown on my face, because without saying anything Dean moved up alongside me and walked next to me between me and the drop. This really meant a lot to me, and was probably the point where for me we were a team. I wasn't climbing Kili, WE were. It was the first time it had gotten scary and there was someone right there next to me. (Thank you Dean xx)

As we were nearing camp we walked through a cloud. It was really wet and we had to put our waterproofs on. We got to **** ewa Camp (11800 ft) minutes before the heavens opened and it poured down. Lena and I got into our tent to get changed, and Goodluck appeared with a bowl of warm water. Instead of washing in it, we used it to soak our feet, putting some citrus fruit in it first. We didn't know what else to do with the fruit, as we were given one everyday and it was yellow on the outside and green on the inside and we couldn't work out if it was a lemon or a lime. We later found out that they were oranges and we were supposed to eat them! At this point I should say to anyone who is planning to climb Kili - take some tracksuit bottoms and some trainers. I didn't, and at the end of the day, walking around camp, I really didn't want my walking boots on.

We went to eat dinner and I had no appitite at all. Me, who could eat for England, really couldn't eat. It was pasta, which is usually my favourite and tasted lovely, but it felt like chewing cardboard. I just couldn't eat. This is a common effect of altitude, and when Goudence, our chief guide noticed, he had a word with all of us. This is when we realised how closely our guides were watching us. They were watching everything that we ate, making sure that we were ok. I felt very safe and very looked after. I started to get stomach cramps, and had to rush to the long drop loo, which was unfortunatly situated in the middle of the fairly quiet camp! It was incredibly embarrassing, and this was the first time I took immodium. We were all suffering from various symptoms of the altitude at this point, loss of appitite, mild headaches, the runs, not being able to sleep, but we were still all in really good spirits. After dinner we tried out some phrases from the swahilli phrasebook on our guide Reg. We had a lot of fun trying to translate easy tiger into swahilli. We went back to our tents to settle in for the night and all stopped to look at the stars. They were fantastic. The sky was so clear and the stars were so bright. It felt like we were in them. Reg told Lena that she is beautiful like the stars, and we went off to bed giggling as usual.

Kili 07 - Day 5 - Riddles

As usual Goodluck woke us up with a cup of chai bora. I got up, and had my usual nice hot power shower with moisturising shower gel and nice shampoo and conditioner, before drying myself on a warm fluffy towel!. Ok, so thats not entirelly true. I woke up and gave myself and all over body wash with wet wipes, before scraping my greasy hair into pig tails and putting a hat on to cover it! Luckilly the immodium seemed to have worked, and I was able to eat breakfast. The Australians left while we were eating (again), and we vowed to beat them to the top. It had been so cold in the night that I had slept curled up and shivering. I wore about 5 layers, and had a 2 layer sleeping bag, but I was still absolutly freezing.

Today we walked again for about 6 hours. It seemed like quite a long day, and we amused ourselves with riddles, non of which I can remember. I think there was one about being in a room with two doors, both being guarded by someone, and having to decide which is the right door to go through by asking only one question to one guard. One of the guards always lies, and one tells the truth. I think. Anyway, thank you Steve for that, it kept us all amused for hours. Again - to anyone planning to do the climb, take some riddles!

As we walked, the immodium began to wear off and I was panicing a little bit. There were very few 'private' areas along this section of the climb, and for quite a large section of the climb I was wondering just how upset my stomach was! We made it to Mawenzi Tarn Camp though (15400 ft) and as we approached it there were little people made from rocks on the hill to welcome us. We decided that after we had rested we would make one. (We didn't get round to it!) I was amazed to discover that we were actually sleeping IN the Mawenzi peak, and It was gorgeous. Everyone lay in their tents for a while before dinner, and I went and sat up on the rocks to read for a while. I couldn't read though because the view was spectacular. I could see all the way to Kenya, miles and miles of African plains. (I'm guessing it was Kenya, but it probably wasn't. I have an awful sense of direction!) I also watched two of the white collared Ravens eating some leftovers that the porters had put out for them. We had seen a lot of these birds on the climb, and they always seemed to be in pairs. The ravens said something to each other in raven language, looked at me, and flew away. A minute later a 4 stripe appeared and started to finish off the food that they had left. By the time I had finished watching the animals and admiring the view, everyone else was up and about and we went for dinner.

We got in to bed exhausted, took some more immodium, (our faithful friend by this point!) and settled down for a wet, cold, and rainy night.

Kili 07 - Day 6 (Day) The day of the wee wall

We woke up to the sound of Goodluck struggling with the zip on our tent. This was because the tent had actually iced up on the outside, and the door flap was frozen solid so wouldn't open! Again we had slept in lots of layers, and by this point were actually keeping our base layers on (My pink thermals) and just washing with a wet wipe under them. It was way to cold to remove the bottom few layers and get changed. The worries I had about being smelly and sweaty driving to the start point seemed absolutely miles away, and I can not even describe how manky my hair was. Vanity aside - I was feeling quite positive at this point. We were all still getting on really well and keeping each others spirits up, and I was at the top of Kili! Ok, so it wasn't the highest point, or even the top, but Kili has 2 peaks, and I had just camped in one of them. I was still worried that I wouldn't make it though. I had wanted to do this for 10 years, and I told myself over and over that I was not going back without reaching Uhuru and although I didn't really believe that, I had managed to convince everyone else that I could do this. The thought of going back and telling everyone, especially Tristan, that I hadn't made it was unthinkable, and I really didn't want to go home without reaching the summit. I thought that people who get to Gillmans point and then go back must be really silly, its only another 2 hours to the top!

As usual, the Aussies packed up and left while we were having breakfast. Goudance had another quick word about how we needed to eat more, and we set off. For the first hour we were climbing up rocks, and it was really difficult. Again there were lots of steep drops, and the air was getting much thinner. I felt silly struggling though because our porters quickly passed us with our luggage in enormous bags on their heads. They had done this everyday, and each day I felt so weak and, well, British! These guys were so strong, and I really can't describe the sight of 10-15 porters rushing by with bags the size of family suitcases on their heads and passing 6 knackered Brits with tiny day packs and all the right 'hiking gear', to scramble effortlessly up the rocks. Amazing.

After about an hour the rocks evened out and we began the long walk across the saddle between Mawenzi and Kibo. The land was quite flat, and was just a vast area of nothing. Just small stones, with the occasional small rock. We could see Kibo hut, our camp for the night, fairly quickly. Unfortunatly though it was still about 4 hours away, and for the first time I struggled with my breathing. We still walked for the most part as a group, but we were quieter today. I think this was the first time we had all truly struggled. At one point, we were walking in silence, when Reg began to sing. Steve, Goudance and Octavious joined him and it was amazing. We were walking across this vast landscape, with Kibo ahead, and 4 Afrcan men with fantastic voices singing in Swahilli. It was so beautiful, and I found myself feeling really emotional. (Ok, so a little tear might have popped out!)

About half way across, we all stopped for a wee break. This was difficult as there were no big rocks to hide behind, and certainly no loo's! Myself, Lena, Jade, and Julia decided to make our 'wee wall'. We walked a little way away from the men, and 3 of us stood in a row, while one crouched behind them. We alternated until we were all done and I have to say, this was NOT like sharing a cubicle in a nightclub loo. It made for a good story though. I tried to drink a bit more water as throughout the whole climb I had struggled to drink as much as I should. We were supposed to drink about 4 litres a day and I was managing about 1 1/2. This was partly because I kept on forgetting (despite the group constantly reminding each other) and partly because I really didn't want to have to stop for a wee! We carried on, and eventually stopped for lunch in the shade of some big rocks. I struggled to eat again, but took the opportunity to top up my sun cream and drink some more water along with my cup of chai bora. I watched the white collared ravens waiting for our leftovers and noticed again that they were all in 2's. I asked Reg if they mated for life and he said yes, they were all couples. I thought that this was incredibly romantic, which I think was due to the altitude warping my mind.

We carried on, and this bit was a real struggle. I barely spoke, and just concentrated on breathing. Lena was also very quiet and I was worried about her. Lena and Julia had both developed a bad cough and I was concerned. I felt really close to Lena but didn't know what to do to help. Kibo hut got closer and closer and the group seperated a little. I walked with Lena and Reg, who also seemed concerned. The slight hill up to Kibo hut was awful. Here in England you could run up it in minutes. At 15000ft with thinning air after the day we had had, it seemed to take forever. We made it though and Lena and I dumped our stuff in the tent and headed straight off to the toilet. On the way though Lena began to struggle with her breathing and collapsed onto a rock. I went to her, and Dean also rushed over, and although she was stuggling to catch her breath she was eventually ok. Reg came and checked her fingers and asked her some questions and said she could carry on with the climb as long as she stopped if she got worse. It was awful. Lena was my friend and room mate and she was really poorly. She was so determined to carry on and I was really proud of her. I was also really worried. Julia's cough was worsening and the reality of what we were doing began to sink in.

Kibo hut was so busy and felt quite uncomfortable. Most people were staying in the huts, but we were still in tents, as were the Aussies (who had beat us again). We were told that we could sleep for 2 hours before dinner, then eat, then sleep for 3 hours, before setting off at midnight for the final ascent. I lay in the tent worrying about Lena and Julia. It wouldn't feel right going on if they got ill. I eventually fell asleep and it felt like almost straight away that we were woken for dinner. We ate together, and it seemed that we were all excited and terrified at the same time. We went back to bed, and couldn't sleep so we both read a little. We could hear Dean and Jade pottering around and giggling nervously. We all eventually fell asleep for about 2 hours.

Kili 07 - Day 8 The final ascent!

We were woke, as always, by Goodluck, only this time it was at 11pm. We had already walked for hours that day, and had only had about 3 hours sleep. It was pitch black outside and really cold. I felt absolutely terrified and couldn't believe that I was about to attempt to get to the top of Kilimanjaro. I was also really worried about Lena who was still feeling poorly, and Julia who was still coughing. We got ready, putting on so many layers of clothing we were walking like the michellin man, and for once we set off before the Aussies. The mood within our team was strange. We were all trying to be upbeat but we were all really scared.

We walked for a couple of hours and Julia and Lena seemed to be struggling. Suddenly everyone stopped and as I was near the back I couldn't really see what was going on. When we started walking again Lena and Julia were stood to one side letting everyone pass. I asked what was going on and was told that they were going to pull back a little with Steve and Octavius and take the climb at their own pace. I kind of said bye and carried on and it all happened so quickly that I hadn't really realised what was going on. As we walked on though it hit me that we were leaving Lena behind and I was gutted. Lena was the person that I had shared the most with on this trip and I wanted to slow down with her. Then I thought that if I had done that I may have lost my chance of getting to the top, as if she had to go back I would have had to go with her. I felt so selfish, and gutted that it had happened so quickly and I hadn't had a chance to hug her or tell her that she could do it or say see you at the top. It was my worst moment on the mountain. One of the worst moments i've had.

I carried on. Steve first, then Dean, then Jade, then me at the back. The Aussies had overtaken us once, but we quickly made that up and were soon in the front again. Reg told me to turn back and look at the moon and it was the most amazing sight. It was so low, and was orange. A giant full moon, brighter than I have ever seen. It spured me on and I felt a little better, but I kept on looking back for Lena's headtorch.

We were climbing up an almost vertical scree slope, and as it was so steep we had to zig zag our way up. I was glad it was dark, as I really wouldn't have been able to cope with the drop if it had been light. Suddenly someone shouted from above and some huge rocks came tumbling down. I was terrified and stayed as close into the mountain as I could. It only lasted a few seconds but it made me realise exactly what were doing, and how far away medical help was! I put my mp3 player on and listened to a really upbeat house mix that Gaf had made for me. It really helped and for a while I found myself almost dancing. It was still difficult, and the altitude was making my breathing quite shallow, but I focused on Jade's feet and just listened to the music.

An hour later when the music came to an end I realised that I was now climbing quite slowly and it was getting difficult to breathe. I wanted to replay the music to lift my spirits but it seemed like a real effort to take the mp3 player out of my pocket and take my gloves off to press play, so I left it. The group moved ahead, then stopped while they waited for me. I didn't feel that I was going to make it and tried to explain this to Dean and Jade, but they told me to carry on and said that they would slow down with me. I felt really bad about this, then Dean dropped back so that he was behind me and I had to keep moving.

Octavious suddenly appeared and told us that unfortunately Julia had had to go back down. He said though that Lena was still climbing with Steve and I crossed my fingers for her. It got harder and harder and none of us were speaking. I was just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Eventually I couldn't keep up with the others and told them to go on ahead and that I would take it at my own pace. Dean was reluctant, but Reg agreed to drop back with me. I watched the others disappear ahead until it was just me and Reg. All I could see was blackness, only broken by the occasional headtorch in the distance. We carried on zig zagging up the steep slope but I was stopping every 2 to 3 minutes to catch my breath. It was probably about 5am by this point, and I regularly asked Reg how long we had to go. Each time he gave the same reply. He said, 'Courage Govinda, courage sister' until I eventually told him that I had f**king courage, I would make it to the f**king top, and I just wanted to know how long it would f**king take. Reg just laughed and said, 'Courage sister'. Sometimes the others seemed really close, but as we were zig zagging they were actually miles ahead.

I got to the stage where I was taking about 5 steps then stopping for a rest, and I really felt like giving up. It was weird though cos although my body told me that it wasn't going any further, I knew there was no way at all I was going back down. I suddenly heard the others ahead and thought that they must have stopped for a break. Then Reg told me that Gilmans point was just across that rock. It was there, that quick, the top of Kili. Ok, so I had said that people who reached Gilmans and didn't go on must be stupid to not do the last couple of hours, but to me, at that point, that was the top of Kili. And much respect to anyone who has made it that far then gone back down.

We climbed over the rock and team Amani were sat there waiting for me with a cup of chai bora. It was the nicest brew i've ever had. It seemed to get light while we sat there recovering, but we didn't watch the sun come up. While we were there Octavious got a message telling him that he had just become a Dad for the first time and we all congratulated him. It was very surreal. It seemed like I had only been there for 5 minutes when the guides said that it was time to move on.

We were all quite happy as we left Gilmans point. I was pleased to be back with the team and thought the worst was behind me. I thought we just had to nip round the crater to Uhuru and we were done.

What we hadn't realised though is that it had snowed heavily on Kili for the first time in about 10 years, and this meant that the crater rim was filled with deep snow. If you picture a volcano with a big deep crater in the middle, with fresh white snow all around the rim, thats what it was like. We were expected to walk on a path made by previous climbers, that was actually flattened snow about 10 inches wide. Its hard to describe, but if you imagine that we were a couple of meters down from the actual crater rim, on the inside of the crater, on a snow ledge that was 10 inches wide and icy and slippy, so that if you held your right leg out a bit away from your body there was nothing below it other than than the crater of kilimanjaro, you kind of get the idea. I can't describe the sheer terror of thinking your going to die. I saw myself slipping and falling into the crater, and someone having to tell Trist that I had died on the mountain because I had been a selfish mother, who instead of staying at home with her son had gone off to climb a mountain. I started to cry and Reg, as usual, giggled at me.He stood on my right between me and the drop, and walked in the snow that was a little lower than the path and twice as dangerous. He continued to giggle at me all the way round, but I was relieved when the others said that they were scared too and I realised that I was not alone.

After we had got round the scary bit the group split up again. Dean and Steve went on ahead and Jade and I slowed down. Then I dropped back again, and as before it was just me and Reg. The altitude started to really affect me and I began to struggle. I knew I should have put suncream on as it was now daylight, but I couldn't figure out how to get it out of my bag. I wanted to take some photographs of the fantastic glaciers, but I couldn't work out how to use my camera. Then I stopped looking at the glaciers, and to an extent wasn't really aware of my surroundings. I was taking 2 or 3 steps then needing to stop for a few minutes to get my breath. Reg offered to carry my bag but that stubborn feminist part of me refused to let him. The only words I could manage were, 'rest Reg', then, 'ok' when I was ready to move on. There were some inclines which I found really difficult as the ground was still covered in snow, and at one point I slipped over. I couldn't get up so I crawled up on my hands and knees, and when we got to the top Reg said that he was going to take my bag or take me back down. To be honest by that point I would have let him take it anyway.

Eventually I saw the Uhuru point in the distance. I spotted 3 people but didn't recognise who they were. All I could think about was getting to that point, and getting back down. I remember at one point thinking that I have waited 10 years for this moment, and worked so hard to get here. I felt that I should try to enjoy it but all I wanted to do was get back down where I could breathe. I wanted it to feel nice and special but it didn't. It just hurt.

Then I realised that the three people were Jade, Dean, and Steve, and after reaching Uhuru they had walked back to meet me so that team Amani could walk up to the summit together. Thats when it felt special and nice and I realised what we had done. We got to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and I collapsed on the floor and cried. Jade hugged me and we cried together. We were at the highest point in Africa and what made it so special is that was harder than I had ever expected it to be. But i'd always seen me reaching the summit as a personal thing, and it wasn't. It had become a team thing. Not just the 4 who got to the top, but all of us.

And we beat the Aussies.......

The rest of the trip will be added later x